Mochi-loving Tamako is a typical first-year high school student and the descendant of a mochi-making family that has operated a modest mochi shop on a local retail street for four generations. She spends her free time with her friends or practicing swinging her baton at the school club when she's not assisting her father and grandfather in making mochi.
However, one day Tamako discovers a talking bird named Dera in a bunch of flowers at the neighborhood florist, upsetting this pattern. He hurriedly follows Tamako home because he mistakenly believes that she has fallen in love with him. But there, he informs her that he must leave right away since, after all, he is on a crucial mission to locate a bride for his prince!
But after nibbling on some of Tamako's delectable mochi, he quickly gains so much weight that he is unable to fly, so Dera decides for the time being to stay and get to know Japan, Tamako, and all the other customers and retailers of the market better.
